Ghana’s leading opposition figure, John Dramani Mahama, appears poised for victory in the upcoming presidential election, according to an opinion poll released on Monday. The poll indicates that Mahama, who served as Ghana’s president from 2012 to 2017, holds a lead over his primary competitor, Vice President Muhamudu Bawumia, the ruling party’s candidate.
Mahama, 65, and Bawumia, 60, are the primary contenders in the December 7 election, which will determine the successor to President Nana Akufo-Addo. Akufo-Addo will be stepping down in January after completing his two-term limit in office. While there are 11 other candidates in the race, Mahama and Bawumia are widely regarded as the top competitors for the presidency in this gold- and cocoa-producing nation.
The poll, conducted by Accra-based research group Global InfoAnalytics, places Mahama at 52% support, while Bawumia trails with 41.3%. The survey has a margin of error of 1.9%. According to the findings, voters are most concerned with issues related to the economy, employment, education, and infrastructure.
During his prior tenure, Mahama, the candidate for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), invested heavily in infrastructure but faced challenges such as power shortages and economic instability. His administration was also scrutinized over corruption allegations, though Mahama himself was not directly implicated. Now, he returns with a platform that aims to address the economic and social needs of Ghana.
Bawumia, an economist and former central banker, is representing the New Patriotic Party (NPP), which has faced scrutiny over Ghana’s worst economic crisis in recent memory. Both candidates have unveiled strategies focused on economic recovery and improved living conditions. Ghana, the world’s second-largest cocoa producer, defaulted on a significant portion of its $30 billion external debt in 2022, following years of high borrowing.
President Akufo-Addo’s administration managed to secure a three-year, $3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2023, with the country now progressing through stringent measures required to access the funds. Analysts have noted that the NPP’s economic track record could impact the outcome of the election. In October, the Economist Intelligence Unit and Fitch Solutions both forecasted a likely NDC victory, attributing this to the ruling party’s economic challenges.
Both Mahama and Bawumia hail from northern Ghana, a region traditionally dominated by the NDC, though the NPP has gained support there in recent years. Political expert Alidu Seidu from the University of Ghana predicts a closely contested race, with the possibility of a runoff, as no political party in Ghana’s democratic history has won more than two consecutive terms.
(Reuters)
